GDG DevFest 2012

Google Developer Group Philippines hosted their first GDG DevFest last August 4, 2012 at Asian Institute of Management Conference Center, Makati, and I am pleased that I had a chance to attend such a great opportunity, not only to be with the googlers all around the country but to know more about the recent developments of Google Technologies and their products. Together with Mr. Jovito Royeca and Mr. Denross Salenga, we went to Makati to attend the said event. The rain didn’t have the chance to hinder our excitement. We arrived on the venue 30 minutes before the event starts.

Whenever we hear the word Google, the first thing that comes to our mind is “Search”. As a developer, Google played an important part of my life. For me, Google is a friend that I can always count on when answers are of nowhere to find. In every successful program that I develop, Google has a big part of its success.

At the GDG DevFest, I have learned that Google is not just a search engine, it offers us applications and services like Google maps for mapping, adSense to monetize your website, analytics for reporting the status of your site, App Engine to create software that can be uploaded to Google Apps, and Google Plus for socializing to other googlers. In addition to that, they also introduced new technologies like Android and HTML 5.

Students from different universities showcase their projects using different Google products and services before the event ends. One of them is the Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) which is the response of the Department of Science and Technology to the call of President Benigno Aquino III for a responsive disaster prevention system (see link : http://noah.dost.gov.ph/). The system used Google Maps to select the location being reviewed. There are also systems that monitor traffic on Metro Manila, Status of the MRT and many others. These systems are made possible using different Google Technologies.

The event ended at six o’clock in the evening and in spite of all, IT’s WORTH ATTENDING.

Virtualization Rocks - VMWare vSphere Conference 2012

In an era, where technology is not only an alternative but a must solution for a successful business, companies nowadays should plan their systems carefully. Every company needs a system that is robust, fast, easy to maintain, up to date and especially, cost effective.

Last Tuesday, May 29, 2012, me and my colleagues namely, Jovito Royeca, Denross Salenga and Iskander Dino, went to Shangri-La Makati to attend a seminar held by VMWare Technology about their product vSphere – an enterprise virtualized platform somewhat same to the open source VirtualBox. Partnered with popular companies like IBM, Trend Micro, Silver Peak, Veeam, CISCO and EMC2 , makes the event more exciting as they discusses how their products can be integrated to VMWare vSphere.

The event was started with an opening remark by Jon Robertson, General Manager ASEAN of VMWare Technology, followed by discussions about vSphere features introduced by Denny Daniels and other products that were discussed by the Presidents and General Managers of partner companies.

VMWare vSphere is truly an amazing technology that answers the company’s need from a system. Imagine a company having 5-10 manageable servers running in a single machine, yes, you read it right, “On a Single Machine”. Each virtual server acts like a real server on a real machine and not just a simulation. And what is interesting here is each server can be configured independently or as a group depending on how or what function the server will perform. Personally, I am recommending this technology for companies need this functionality but don’t have sufficient fund buying additional servers for their company.

The event ended around 5:30 in the afternoon. Though it was tiring, it’s worth attending and I am personally giving the event a TWO THUMBSUP for the interesting topics, smart speakers, and of course, for the tasteful food they prepared.